Several new complexes are either under construction or are proposed in Maplewood, the largest of which could soon be completed.
Construction began in late 2015 on the massive Avalon Maplewood development at 186-238 Boyden Avenue, at the northeast corner of Springfield Avenue, at the eastern end of the township near the Irvington border. Avalon Maplewood, which was originally referred to as Parke Place, will contain a parking garage and 235 studio, one-bedroom, and two bedroom residential units when completed at the beginning of 2017. Six apartments in the building will be affordable housing.
According to the development website, there will also be courtyards, a fitness center, and a rooftop deck with views of the New York skyline. The project is being developed by AvalonBay Communities, which has similar properties across the country, including in Bloomfield, Edgewater, Hoboken, Jersey City, and North Bergen.
Previously, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) operated the Maplewood Testing Services division for over 70 years within a large industrial and office building at the site. According to property records, PSEG sold the property last May for $3,157,978. The complex was demolished in August of 2015, and construction on the new complex began almost immediately.
The Avalon Maplewood site is located opposite the Maplewood Community Pool, and sits adjacent to New Jersey Transit’s General Office Building and Hilton Bus Garage. The area is served by NJ Transit Buses 25, which connects Maplewood with Newark Penn Station and the Ironbound, and 70, which runs to Newark Penn Station, Union County, and the malls in Short Hills and Livingston. Maplewood Township’s jitney service connects the area with the Maplewood Train Station.
After development was announced for the PSEG property, Wawa announced plans to open a convenience store and gas station directly across Springfield Avenue, near the corner of Jacoby Street. The location, which will open its doors on December 16th, is the Pennsylvania-based company’s first location in Essex County.
Additional developments are proposed along or near the Springfield Avenue corridor, including another new residential building. Elite Properties of Warren Township, Somerset County is planning a 30-unit apartment building at 1687-1689 and 1695-1701 Springfield Avenue, between Tuscan Street and Vermont Street, which is currently the site of the former DiPietro Foods store and parking lots. Affordable housing will be included in the development. According to Maplewood Township records, the Maplewood Planning Board granted preliminary and final site plan approval for the project in September.
Further west, construction is underway on a new project in the Maplewood Village Business District. Clarus Maplewood is being developed by JMF Properties at 160 Maplewood Avenue, just a few feet away from the Maplewood Train Station on NJ Transit’s Morris and Essex Lines. The three-story building will include 20 residential rental units, five retail spaces, and parking when completed next year. Bayonne-based BCB Community Bank and Starbucks Coffee are slated to occupy two of those spaces, and a restaurant operated by the owner of Somerset County’s Gladstone Tavern could occupy another. Clarus is being built at the site of the township’s former main post office, which was demolished in May after moving down the street.
